Debate-me bros intensify anti-vaxx propaganda
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Speaking of the asshole failson’s vanity campaign, a bunch of venture capital bros with unlistenable podcasts have decided the RFK Jr. is just guy to ratfuck the Dem nominee and make the path to a DeSantris presidency easier (yes, they also think DeSantis will win the Republican nomination, nobody said they were bright):
Wow, an anti-vaxx failson running a pathetic vanity campaign has more time to spend with shitty alt-right podcasters than the President of the United States. Clearly, this means he's winning— Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM) June 16, 2023
But while this is massively unlikely to work on its own terms, it has having the very nasty side effect of amplifying anti-vaxx propaganda:
A broad swath of the anti-vaccine universe celebrated Thursday, when Joe Rogan, the biggest podcaster in the country, hosted a three-hour conversation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vax luminary turned presidential candidate. The conversation was an orgy of unchecked vaccine misinformation, some conspiracy-mongering about 5G technology and wifi, and, of course, Rogan once again praising ivermectin, an ineffective faux COVID treatment. As RFK began his campaign by downplaying his anti-vaccine activism, the conversation represented a bit of a return to form. But the episode also conclusively demonstrates that Spotify, the platform that reportedly paid more than $200 million to host Rogan’s show, has completely given up on addressing his relentless torrent of medical misinformation, except in the most pallid and surface-level ways.
The show began with Rogan monologuing effusively about how he changed his mind on Kennedy, saying he’d gone from thinking the latter was “a fringey-thinking conspiracy-type person” to agreeing with Kennedy’s stance on vaccines during the pandemic.
“I was like, ‘Is this possible that this is the guy that’s telling the truth?’” Rogan asked, rhetorically.
What followed was a detailed survey of Kennedy’s most dangerously incorrect views, a far too extensive list to outline in full, all of which Rogan accepted uncritically, his mouth quite often literally agape in awe. (There was also a casual aside near the end in which Kennedy, who believes his uncle, JFK, and his father were both assassinated by the CIA, suggested that he himself may be targeted by the organization. He told Rogan he takes “precautions” against the CIA, although it’s unclear what those might be.)
Really not good!
There may be dumber people in public life than Joe Rogan but given the nature his audience (credulous, uninformed) there is likely nobody who amplifies his stupidity to worse effect. https://t.co/2GhywxMS4g— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) June 17, 2023
Once again, you cannot “debate” conspiracy theorists to the profit of anybody but the theorist. You can only point out on any platform you can that they’re wrong.